Step by step, the Broncos' defense has navigated through its offseason rebuilding, trying to find confidence in the huddle to go with all of the new faces.

"Preseason or not, you keep a team from scoring. That's what you want, and it came at a good time for us," Broncos linebacker Darrell Reid said in the aftermath of Denver's 19-0 preseason victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night. "During this preseason, every week it was like something different, kind of like a rock in your shoe every time you tried to make a move, something different that was going wrong, something different that was causing us a problem. I felt like we got rid of that rock in our shoe."

It was only the seventh time in 50 preseasons worth of business for the Broncos they shut out an opponent, and for a team that has been a whirlwind of change, drama and shifting lineups, there is hope that can mean something in the season opener a week from Sunday in Cincinnati.

"Maybe guys feel what we can do and we can continue this trend," Reid said. "(Thursday) was the first night we put it all together and showed how we can play as a defense. We were in the right position to make plays, and we made them."

The Broncos forced four turnovers — they recovered one fumble and made three interceptions — and held a Cardinals offense sporting reserves for much of the evening to 244 yards.

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Things certainly will be more challenging against a Bengals offense that includes a healthy Carson Palmer at quarterback in a little more than a week. But Reid said the Broncos made the most of the dress rehearsals in trying to repair a defense that was among the league's worst in the previous two seasons.

The Broncos fared slightly better on defense in this preseason than in the previous three, which all ended short of the playoffs. The task now, especially up front against the run, will be to hold up when offenses are specifically attacking what they see as the Broncos' weaknesses.

Broncos defensive lineman Kenny Peterson celebrates after stopping Cardinals running back Tim Hightower for a 3-yard loss in the first
quarter Thursday night at Invesco Field at Mile High. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

"Before I signed, we all heard a lot about the problems they were having on defense," nose tackle Ronald Fields said. "We all want to make it better. We think we should be better than a lot of people who don't know us and don't see us every day."

The Broncos had no interceptions and no fumble recoveries in their first three preseason games.

"We've been talking about it. Turnovers are big. That's going to be the difference a lot of weeks, and we can't win the turnover battle if we don't get any," outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil said. "We have to make some. I know for me, I didn't force any (in the preseason) because I didn't get to the quarterbacks enough. Sacks are big for turnovers — hits on the quarterback. I think we can pressure people better than we have, maybe, and that should bring more turnovers."

But more than anything Thursday night, the defense at least got a little affirmation after being dismantled from 2008's cave-in and reassembled in a different scheme. That was important after former Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, only four days earlier, threw for 144 yards and a touchdown in a half.

"Defense is confidence sometimes," cornerback Andre Goodman said. "You play with that confidence to recover from your mistakes and to keep lining up. We've got guys who can play that way."

"For young guys who may not know, (Thursday) is what you want to look like," Reid said. "Stop people, get turnovers and then score with those turnovers."

Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com

Clean slate

Thursday night was the seventh time in franchise history the Broncos shut out an opponent in the preseason:

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